Books and Boats (of the cardboard variety)

Alright I have once again been absent from my computer, but it's not my fault! It is summertime on Long Island and I was lost in the world of Game of Thrones, which had entirely engulfed my life (I am on book two). If you have not yet joined the Games of Thrones following, I strongly encourage you to, especially if you are a bit of a Science Fiction nerd, as I am. And when I say Sci-Fi nerd let me clarify--Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, etc.--I have watched and read them all (except Lord of the Rings, that is number one on my Winter reading list). I love science fiction! I love books in general, but give me a book where I have a whole other world to fall into and I can be lost for days, as you have seen. 

Well luckily for my blogging a few things have come up which require me to turn on the computer and so hopefully I will stay focused for a week or so. But while I am on the topic of books, I have recently rediscovered goodreads and if you have an account, feel free to follow my reviews or add me. I am currently looking for my next book and would appreciate suggestions!

Last weeks highlights:

1. My sister went to prom, and looked very nice in a vintage dress.
2. My sister graduated high school, and as always she couldn't let me get off with grumbling in the bleachers--I received quite the sunburn and will not be forgetting that day anytime soon!
3. My jury duty case was settled and dismissed.
4. I finished the first Game of Thrones book.
5. And probably the oddest of them all, I attended Riverheads' 3rd Annual Cardboard Boat Race!

Now while proms and graduations are exciting, what I know we both agree will make for better reading is the cardboard race. A few of the winery guys have gotten together the last two years to compete in a cardboard boat race down the Peconic. While last year I only heard stories, this year I was in attendance, however unfortunately was not able to see the race itself as graduation was conveniently scheduled for the same time. Let me paint the scene:

The Crew

The "Bottom of the Barrel"

Stepping out of our cars you would never know that a race was getting ready to start just down the street. The streets are quiet, calm, and deserted, however once Main Street is crossed the sidewalk comes to life and their is cardboard of every shape and color, people of all ages in costume, music, BBQs, carnival food stands, shouting, and more going on than a single person could absorb. Waking down the waterfront close to 200 boats of all shapes, sizes, and themes, manned and built from those ages 7 to 90 overflow from the sidewalk onto the dock, sidewalk, and grass. Tents are set up tailgate style with the smells of barbecues and beer coming from all directions. Wandering through the mess of boats I come face to face with Mr. Spock in front of the Starship Enterprise, "Just Keep Swimming" with the cast of Finding Nemo, meet the Swamp People, and so many more before finally reaching last years reining champions, defenders of the first prizes, and a bunch of friendly faces aboard their Viking style long ship "Bottom of the Barrel." Manned by nine 30 something year old men, they were quite a force to be reckoned with and once again beat out the competition. While this year I made it to the pre-race, hopefully next year I will manage to see the cardboard hit water!

Trapped by the Yogis!

I know I have been MIA these last few days, but with my sisters’ prom and graduation approaching as well as both sets of grandparents visiting finding time to sit down at the computer has been difficult. Hopefully after reading the following funny story you will forgive me . . .

Rachel and I were sipping iced coffees this afternoon when I happened to pick up a yoga pamphlet. And this particular pamphlet happened to be for a yoga studio in town. Now this yoga studio happened to be the one that a teacher from our High School teaches as, who just so happened to be one of Rachel's favorite teachers. Given all of this Rachel started telling me about how great the classes are and it just so happened that they were having a Summer Solstice Celebration of sorts tonight so we changed into shorts and tank tops (as it was disgustingly hot out today, much too warm for June), collected our towels, and made our way over to the studio.

Upon arriving we encountered several women in flowing tie-dyed clothing and sports bras, all who were carrying drums and pilling into cars. So we got back behind the wheel and followed the parade of drums down to the beach and into a private driveway. After squeezing my car into the only reasonable parking spot open we gathered our towels and made our way (through some random persons backyard) down to the beach, spread our towels, and waited for the sun salutations to begin. An hour later, we found ourselves still waiting. Rachel was supposed to go with her mom to the airport, so after waiting a complete hour we decide to give up and start to leave. Well, when we reach the driveway we quickly realize that any chance of leaving is impossible, given the obnoxious parking of a certain jeep. The yogis had trapped us there! So back to the beach we went, and 21 sun salutations (which felt like 50), quite a bit of hula hooping, and another hour later we found ourselves once again climbing into the car in an attempt to leave. However, apparently none of our fellow yoga doers know how to park, so I was forced to drive over a curb, possibly killing a bush or two in order to make it back to the road. 

Now, being the highly stressed person that I am, yoga would appear to be a very good outlet to relieve some of the excess stress that I seem to attract. While the sun salutations were very enjoyable and I do feel quite refreshed, if this is how every yoga session is going to go I think I will save myself the additional stress and skip yoga all together! I will have to give it one more try, but I hope my next yoga session is a little more structured and a little less of a stressor and more of a stress reliever. 

Canadian Adventure Completed

I tried to post everyday, but as you can see from the singular previous post about Canada, I was having too much of a good time to be spending a minute on my phone/computer blogging, so lets see how well I can recall the details . . . 

                                             Part 2:

Tuesday morning after breakfast on the porch, gazing out at the Adirondacks, we made our way to Montreal, but not without a detour or two. Being the organized people that we are, we decided to get gas before crossing the border into Canada, unfortunately for us, we have very poor luck when it comes to gas stations . . . an hour of cows, silos, and farmlands (in the wrong direction) later we found a gas station. Now being that what was intended as a 10-minute side trip took the better part of an hour, we decided to get lunch. We found a quaint little place on the road, with a number of cars, and ordered. Unfortunately for us, when we got our food, no matter how hard we tried, we could not bring ourselves to eat more than the first bite--they were completely inedible. Stomachs grumbling, with our full tank of gas, and an hour behind schedule, we set out again and made it Canada by mid-afternoon.   

Montreal was beautiful! Given our limited amount of time in the city we set out straight away to explore. Having received a recommendation for an area to go for dinner, we set out walking in a complete circle, through the entire city proper, at least 13km. We wandered through several neighborhoods, took a look at McGill University, walked through a park or two (I have never seen so many people exercising in one place before in my entire life), ate dinner at a Greek restaurant, explored the downtown, got a cocktail in Old Montreal, witnessed a protest, and walked along the waterfront. We did not take the typical tourist route, but instead saw the sites under the stars, taking in the city at night—in my opinion a much better way to do it.

                                                      Part 3:

In the morning we made pancakes at our hostel, making friends with an Australian who was traveling across Canada. We chatted on the patio over coffee before going our separate ways for the day. Rachel and I, headed north of the city to Mt. Royal Park, where we hiked for a few hours, visited a "castle," learned some history of the city, took in several breathtaking views, snacked on maple sugar candies, and had lunch at a cafe--Canadian beer and sandwiches--before getting back in the car and heading back to the old USA. 

On the way back to North Creek, we took a few side trips: 

• We went to Fort Ticonderoga
• Ate ice cream
• Sang show tunes--namely the Sound of Music
• Walked through a century old cemetery and church
• Found a waterfall
• Explored a park
• Played on a playground
• Put our feet in Lake George
• Visited Hauge
• Drove through a biker convention
• And wandered through the woods

                                         Part 4:

This morning we were up, packed, and off bright and early! With our coffee and pastry in hand we set off for Saratoga Spa State Park where we went on a few short hikes, Rachel saw her first geyser, and we bathed in a few natural springs. After which we went to see the Saratoga Race Tracks, which were unfortunately closed, but we still we able to see quite a bit from the road. Having made better time than expected we went looking for another stop to make and decided to head to New Paltz for a coffee and a look around. In our attempt to avoid NYC rush hour, we managed to hit bumper-to-bumper all the way to New Paltz. By the time we got there we were ready to go. We took at look at SUNY New Paltz campus, got a coffee in town, and explored Main Street before getting back in the car and heading home. 

After 1200 miles, 10+ cities, 4 days, 3 nights, and 2 countries we arrived back at home and have already begun planning our next road trip, get excited for the Rachel & Shelby Massachusetts road trip come August as well as (fingers crossed) European Summer 2013!

Canadian Adventure: Part 1

It has been an interesting last 24 hours to say the least! (I am writing from my phone as the Internet is being funny at the house.) After a long day at work it was off to Queens to pick up Rachel from the subway as she spent the day in the city.

Now Queens is not an area I am terribly familiar with and so to say I got lost once or twice would be a severe understatement. We spent about an hour and a half me driving around in circles cursing my phone while Rachel sat in a diner--The Stop Inn--drinking coffee and eating pie patiently awaiting me to get it together and get to the right spot to pick her up.

After I found her and we drove in circles a bit longer figuring out how to get back to the highway, we were off! We only got lost half a dozen more times. Along the way we saw about 50 deer, went on a long detour in search of gas, belted our lungs out to the radio, and had an all around hilarious drive. At 12:30 we finally made it up to North Creek. After a quick episode of Game of Thrones we passed out and Part 1 of our Canadian adventure was complete.

Part 2:

We woke up to the bright and sunny wilderness. We made a lovely breakfast of tea, toast, and apricots and sat out outside to stare at the mountains and now, having packed up again, we are off to Canada. Next stop Montreal!

Quote of the Day: "We need a giant ball of yarn or something" Rachel at 10:30pm driving down the highway.

Road tripping

Tomorrow night Rachel and I embark on a three day adventure to Montreal. Our goal:

1. Road trip 
2. Spend as little money as possible 
3. Stay in a hostel 
4. Have a great time and 
5. Participate in a little ridiculousness

There will be hiking, tons of pictures, so much wonderful food, numerous detours, and I am sure quite a few good stories. With 450 miles of road ahead of us the preparations have been made, the route selected, the playlist put together, and the participants excited. All that is left to do is pack, pull out of the driveway, and let the adventure begin!

Memorial Day (Hampton Style)

Beach, Barbecue, and Buds--Memorial Day celebration Westhampton-style. Not working Memorial Day weekend is a rare occurrence when you grow up where I have. This is the first time since I started working at 14 that I have not worked this weekend and I think I am going to like the change! 

Being that we had the whole day without a drop of work to do, Rachel and I set out for the beach where we met up with a few friends, let our skin sizzle in the sun, and chatted the afternoon away. With our skin successful browned with only the slightest hint of sunburn, we got a bit of gelato and did some people watching in town before realized that unknowingly we had almost completed the entire "Memorial Day weekend in the Hampton's check-list" which includes: sitting for hours at the beach, walking through town, obscuring traffic with poor driving, last minute grocery shopping, and hosting/attending a barbecue with friends. Now aside from the poor driving--which was not an option, as I know how to drive unlike most of the summer crowd--all we had left to complete was the last minute shopping and a barbecue. 

Sending a few texts we quickly acquired a few friends and set out for the store to pick up the necessary ingredients. After wrestling with the charcoal and having a few minutes of fun feeling like pyromaniacs with the lighter fluid, we managed to light our BBQ and the grilling began. While the two of us often cook/bake together BBQing is not a form of food preparation that we normally tackle--always the adventure. We were pleasantly surprised by how good the food tasted. Happy Memorial Day!

                      Our Menu:

• Steak
• Hot Dogs and buns
• Tomato Salad
• Baby Potatoes
• Vegetable Shish Kabobs
• Marshmallows
• Watermelon

A Bit Delayed

I have been a terrible procrastinator the last few days, but I think as a recent college graduate, having overloaded on too much to do into too short of a period of time over the last few years, I think that is excusable. The last 2-week have been busy ones!

After my last posting I left for a week of hiking out west in Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. Having lived in Michigan for the last few years in a dorm room lacking air conditioning, you would think that I would have realized that there is a reason I like living on the coast so much, well apparently that bit of information slipped my mind in the planning of this trip. Even though it is May and should be relatively cool, I melted most days. Ninety degrees (regardless of it being a "dry heat" as I was so frequently reminded) is not my idea of fun. Aside from the heat it was a very nice week and an area that I will have to visit again (hopefully when I, fingers crossed, drive across country).  

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Sedona, Arizona

Zion National Park, Utah

After returning to the much more bearable weather of New York I was quickly set to work at the winery doing a bit of bottling and on top of that have managed to get myself a job at a local winery, as a bar tender in their tasting room. The last few days have been spent training in my new job, watching as many old House episodes as I can (as I am depressingly behind), trying my best to make up for the past 3 years of sleep deprivation, and catching up with friends from high school. 

This morning, rising bright and early to the sound of my alarm at 6am, which unfortunately happens more mornings than not, I set off to work a farmers market in Greenport for Suhru Wines. Having never before worked a market, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, as well as how successful I was with sales. I have never thought of myself as much of a salesperson, but apparently that is a skill that I can add to my arsenal.  As the weeks go on I am quickly finding my schedule filling up, which should make for a nice and exciting summer, and as I promise to be more faithful to this blog and more consistent with my postings, hopefully an exciting summer for me will lead to interesting blogs to read. Until next time! (Which hopefully will be sooner than 2 weeks from now.)

Coming Soon!

Expect a post on last weeks trip to Utah & Arizona, as well as news on my new job soon!

Conquering My Fears, One Baby Step at a Time

I have always been a bit of a baby when it comes to blood--I am definitely the squeamish type! I will go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, absailing in the Blue Mountains, skiing in the Rocky's, and white water rafting in Upstate New York but I will also cry and hyperventilate if you try to take a vile of blood, that is I used to . . .

While I have not yet seen the benefits of a college degree (having been a graduate for all of 4 days) but if graduating from MSU has given me anything, it is the ability to get my blood taken--this morning for the first time in my life I got my blood taken without the flooding the doctors office with tears and sending the nurses running. This is a major life accomplishment, and one that I am way more proud of than graduation! I may even consider giving blood now, well we will see . . .

This Spartan has Graduated!

After 3 years of classes, sleep deprivation, and poor nutrition college has finally come to a close and with it, I am turning the page to find out what lies ahead.

The last few days have been hectic to say the least and I am very happy to be finally sitting down for more than ten minutes at a time, although I unfortunately cannot say that my to-do-list has decreased much in length. (It is going to be a very busy summer, and rest of my life I suppose.) My family arrived on Thursday and the whirlwind of graduation activities began. 

Each night I had a dinner planned with some of my close friends, as my parents were eager to meet some of the people with whom I had surrounded myself for the last 3 years. These were all a lot of fun, but tinged with sadness since they were in a way a punctuation to my time spent at MSU. Friday and Saturday were my graduations, which were quite the surreal experience, as even now the reality of graduation has not fully hit me, and I am not looking forward to when it does. Now if all of this, plus getting the most of my last evenings as an undergrad, resulting in very little sleep, wasn't enough, I was voiceless for the entirety of the weekend, and am still only now starting to regain the ability to speak. So squeaking and croaking, I went through my final days in Michigan as an undergrad, saying my "See You Later's" and getting caught up in all of the excitement. 

Now, having unpacked the last box, and settled back into life in NY all I can do is smile thinking of the last 3 years. I am surprised and pleased to see how much I have changed since I first set foot on MSU’s campus. I have made some amazing friends, had some truly crazy times, experienced things I never would have imagined, and made memories that I will never forget. While I have never been one to have a lot of school pride--I can count the number of MSU sports games I have attended on one hand--I know that MSU and the people that I met during my time in Michigan will be a part of me forever. While I stumbled upon Michigan State purely by accident, it was the place I needed to be and I cannot thank everyone that I have met enough for taking the naive girl from Long Island who walked in Emmons Hall in August 2009 with a very twisted view of the Midwest and turning her into the person that I am today.

Thank you MSU! I am and will be a Spartan for life! GO GREEN!

Graduation, quickly approaches

With just 10 days left until graduation, the countdown has officially begun! As the numbers slowly descend to the single digits I can’t help but feel the reality of the coming 12 months—and really the rest of my life—begin to set in. 

I have been racing to graduation since before I even submitted my first college application. For years I have been racing ahead, with my eye on the next goal, the finish line of the next race in sight before I crossed the previous one. Now, having just left my last class as an undergrad, it is funny how quickly the end has come, and it is quite sad that I didn't realize until now just how much I am going to leave in the Midwest when I head home next Sunday.

College on the whole has been a very different experience than I initially anticipated. I assumed that college would be much like high school (and it was) but there was so much more that I learned and experienced in these last 3 years than I ever imagined that I would. I have met some truly amazing and inspiring people, been involved in some fantastic things, gotten to experience and see so much, as well as open my eyes to so many different ideas and ways of life.

For years people have been telling me "enjoy this time, these are the best days of your life" but I never gave those words much thought. I have always been one to focus. I know how to plan and I know how to get things done. But it has taken 3 years in the Midwest for me to finally learn how to relax and to realize that it’s okay to fail, to be late, to mess up, or to make a fool of myself because how much fun can you really have otherwise? And if your not having fun, what’s the point?

Fun is the theme of this, next, and last week, as well as hopefully all of those following. Though it pains me a bit, I have to admit, the Midwest with its pop and hard "a" may have converted this NY girl, if not only temporarily. 

Join the Adventure

As a soon-to-be graduate with a degree in Professional Writing, Editing, and Publishing from Michigan State University, I am preparing to embark on the next chapter of life. Having never been one to follow the "road most traveled" I will graduate from MSU a year early and will be taking a "gap year" in the coming months. 

I have always been one to seek adventure. From going to an out-of-state university, completing an internship in Sydney, Australia, being a skiing instructor, eating cow stomach, and more, I continually push my own boundaries, go out on a limb, and try new things. 

Starting after graduation on May 5th my Gap Year Adventure will begin. The plan for the summer is still up in the air, as I am waiting to decide between editing and publishing related opportunities. Starting in September I will be working as harvest help at a winery on the eastern end of Long Island. The winter months will be spent up at Gore Mountain, where I have been teaching skiing for the last four years. As it currently stands the spring is a toss up and will most likely involve some time spent back at MSU in combination with a little traveling and possibly another job. As of now I am riding it out and just waiting to see what happens. 

For the next 12 months I will be documenting my one-year adventure. I hope that you take this adventure along with me and if at any time you have a suggestion for ways to add a little more excitement to my journey, please speak up!

Without any more delay . . . let the adventures begin!